


Old Ghosts

by LilBittyMonster, QueenWithABeeThrone, Senor_Sparklefingers, steelneena



Series: Sweet Weather and Peacock Feathers [3]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Fix-it fic, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, but we fix that fairly quick, everything through episode 45 of cr2 is canon, post cr1, spoilers for cr1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-07 00:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17355218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilBittyMonster/pseuds/LilBittyMonster, https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenWithABeeThrone/pseuds/QueenWithABeeThrone, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Senor_Sparklefingers/pseuds/Senor_Sparklefingers, https://archiveofourown.org/users/steelneena/pseuds/steelneena
Summary: The gang returns to the Glory Run Road, and a reunion is had.





	1. Chapter 1

Pike stepped out of the tree and onto a road, patches of it still frozen by the fading winter. However, there was life poking through the ice: flowers grew through the snow, little mushrooms stubbornly clinging onto gnarled and ancient tree roots, patches of grass still visible even through the melting snow. And just further beyond, a colorful coat fluttered in the wind, held up by a stick. Below the coat was a garden of snapdragons, lilies, roses, lilacs and rosemary—flowers that should’ve been out of season, or indeed flowers that weren’t _from_ this region, now grew over a patch of earth.  
  
She looked up at the coat. It wasn’t hard to guess what it was.  
  
“Is this your friend?” she asked Yasha.

"Yes, that's him," Yasha said quietly. She made her way to the—to the garden in a daze, her boots crunching on the wet snow. The coat, still resplendent in its colours, even with weather fading, waved in the faint breeze. She brushed the small pile of snow off of it and untangled the vines that had overgrown it and gave it a good shake. He'd be needing this back when they were done.

Keyleth looked around as the tree closed behind them, grateful that Yasha had provided enough information for her to scry an appropriate tree nearby. She shivered a little at the late winter breeze before gasping at the sight of flowers fighting through the snow, seeming to not just survive but thrive in spite of the odds.  
  
"It's beautiful," she whispered.  
  
Vex nodded quietly,  putting a hand on Percy's shoulders as she surveyed the area. It certainly _was_ beautiful, a beautiful place to rest. But she saw the coat, faded slightly from the elements, but still beautiful and striking, looked over and saw Yasha's face, and knew that no matter how lovely this place was, the person buried here was worth far more.  
  
"Do we, um—do we need to dig him up or..." Yasha turned to Pike hesitantly. "The ground might be a bit hard this time of year."

“I need to touch him,” said Pike, plucking a snapdragon from the garden. It was beautiful, certainly, but the person resting under the earth was worth far more than flowers. “But it’s alright, Keyleth’s pretty good at what she does.”

With a certain sense of drive, Percy nodded his head once. "Right. Well. Let's get to it then. Keyleth? Will you?"

Keyleth nodded. "I can cast Move Earth, and I'll be gentle, promise." She closed her eyes and concentrated on the spell, starting to slowly move dirt and soil away from the marker.

Vex watched Yasha's face the entire time, taking Percy's hand and squeezing it. They hadn't told her yet about how they believed she was their lost daughter. It seemed inappropriate to dump that on her while her friend was still gone, but they would have to tell her, and soon.  
  
Yasha stood back as the druid moved the pile of earth from the base of the stick, stems and roots of the flowers growing there dangling in the cold air. Even through the haze of her grief, she still had enough energy to be impressed by the magic.

"Ha!" Keyleth let out a small exclamation of triumph as she saw a glimmer of _something_ emerge from underneath the dirt.

As the mud slowly cleared, Yasha could see the faint shimmer of gold in the ground, then the curved ridge of horns, and finally the empty sockets of her best friend's skull. She closed her eyes against the harsh image, picturing instead what she knew he'd look like, red eyes vibrant and full of mirth.  
  
"How long will this take?" she asked, still not opening her eyes.

Pike knew the body wouldn’t be in the best of conditions, given the garden, so she gently drew up the corners of the torn shroud and kept it covered as she tugged it the rest of the way out of the soil. The least she could do was spare Yasha the sight.

Vex tried not to wince at the sight of the skull, tried not to see herself mirrored in Yasha's grief, and was grateful that Pike pulled the tattered shroud over him again.

“It takes an hour. The way this works,” Pike said to Yasha, “is that there needs to be three people making an offering of some kind, to coax your friend back. Do you have anything that he might’ve loved in life? Can you say something to pull him back?”

"Of course I do," Yasha replied, trying not to snap at this kind woman. "He was—he _is_ my best friend."

"If you say something, he will hear you. I can speak to that personally." Percy advised her gently. "Your words will matter. Say whatever comes from the heart."

"Yes, darling.” Vex assured her. “Whatever you feel, say it. He'll hear you."

“For what it’s worth,” said Pike, “they’re right. He’ll hear you. And he’ll listen.” And she tugged a diamond out of her pouch and knelt by the body. She sprinkled holy water over the tattered and faded shroud, then reached inside and took a rotting hand in hers, unafraid and undeterred by the decay. Then she started to pray.  
  
The diamond glowed.  
  
Yasha pulled out the book of flowers, not opened since he had given her the silk flower back in Hupperdook. She pulled it from the page, and flipped to the front of the book, where the four leaf clover sat.  
  
"You gave these to me, the first day we met and the last day we saw each other," she began. "I remember. You...you were the first friend I had had in a long time, Molly. You looked at me and saw only another person to love. You were so good at that." She wiped absently at a tear that clung to her lashes. "You always had so much love to give, to me, to our circus family, to the Mighty Nein, to every person you met. I don't know how you do it, but I know—I know we need that. You died trying to come and get me, and our new friends. Caleb told me. Part of me wishes you hadn't, that you had waited just a bit longer. But who knows. I certainly don't. I just—" She knelt and placed the two flowers over his heart. She had started breathing shakily, the tears flowing freely. "I need you back, Molly. You're the only family I have left."

There was a cawing noise in the trees near the road, and an unusually large raven swooped down, landing near the grave. The bird looked at the group gathered there, eyes oddly human. It cooed softly at Keyleth, who smiled softly and blinked back tears at the sight of the bird. "Hi, boo."  
  
The raven cooed again, turning to Vex and Percy, inclining its head at them. Vex smiled and nodded back, happy as always to see her brother, though she was confused as to why Vax was there. Before she could say anything, Vax hopped onto the grave, onto what had been Molly's chest, before cawing loudly, moving to groom and remove a pitch black feather, leaving it on his chest, over the wound that had killed him.

_("I'm not technically allowed to help with these things, kiddo, but I'll do what I can. Consider that my contribution to the ritual...just tell Stubby I said hello when you go back, okay? And...when you meet Elaina, tell her...just tell her hi. If you remember.")_

(" _I’ll make sure to remember that, you can rest assured.”_ )

The bird looked at Yasha, nodding at her before flying off and landing on Keyleth's shoulder.

It was a touching scene. Percy felt his daughter's emotional upheaval in his core and his heart ached at her words, yearning to refute them, to hold her hand and wipe her tears away and tell her _yes, you have more family than you know_ , but he couldn't. He said nothing, simply watching as she poured forth her heart and soul before the grave. When Vax—for it was most certainly Vax—swooped down, his brow creased in confusion. He left behind one shining feather—a gift to his niece? Silently, Percy thanked his brother-in-law. If this person meant so much to Yasha, then he would mean so much to all of them.

Vex blinked back tears as her daughter poured her heart out over the grave of her best friend, wanting so badly to rush forward and hug her and tell her everything right then and there. From the look on Percy's face, they both wanted that.

But this was not the right time. Not yet.

Vax's arrival had been unexpected, but not unwelcome, though she was left confused as to why he seemed to be offering to the ritual. Was he even allowed to do that? Regardless, if it helped, she would be grateful.

The diamond glowed, brighter and brighter. Pike _felt_ the hand knitting back together, sinews weaving back into place over bones, the decomposition process speeding up in the other direction. Heart, lungs, guts, eyes, those regrew in the span of minutes.

Then, it shattered.

There was the sound of someone sucking in a sudden breath. A purple hand clawed at the shroud, and Pike quickly tore it away to see a tiefling lunging forward, red eyes, confused and surprised, lavender skin with tattoos curling up the side of the face, and a nose she recognized.

“What—What the _hell_ ,” said Mollymauk Tealeaf.

Vex gasped, eyes widening, her grip on Percy's hand tightening.

 _She knew that face_.

It had been years, but she could never, ever forget those eyes.

She still remembered the first time she saw those eyes, staring at her from the small, wrinkly face of her newborn son. She remembered the last time she saw them, blinking sleepily at her as he held onto his twin sister's hand, watching her and Percy go off with Tary into Deastock. Those were the eyes of her Luci...her son.

" _Molly!_ " Yasha sobbed, leaning in and cradling him to her chest. Her face was buried in his hair, that familiar scent of lavender oils and incense that followed him like a cloud washing over her and soothing in an instant. "Molly, Molly, Molly, Molly..." she chanted softly.  "Thank you," she said to Pike with a hiccup, meeting her gaze. "Thank you so much. I’ll never forget this."

“ _Yasha_ ,” said Molly, voice hoarse as he grabbed at her shirt and hauled her in for a hug. “Oh, gods, you’re okay, you’re safe—”

"Yes, I'm okay, we're all okay, they got us out, but _Molly_ —" Yasha pulled back just enough to kiss his forehead. "It's okay, you're back now. Everything's going to be fine."

Pike didn’t answer, staring at Molly like she’d seen a ghost. It couldn’t be. Holy fuck. _It was._

Keyleth had gasped quietly at the sight of her nephew rising out of the dirt, glancing at Vax, still perched on her shoulder. "Did you know?" she whispered to him. The raven nodded silently. Well. That explained his contribution to the ritual, at least.

It was as if the ground had fallen out beneath him.  Yasha had not said and they'd not asked. What did it matter the colour of her tiefling friend's skin, or eyes? Yasha was using her birth name, even if she didn't know it, so an unfamiliar name for her friend hadn't led to any indication whatsoever that… that... it could possibly be that... "Lucien?" The name escaped his lips unintentionally, like a prayer. "My gods, Lucien?"

Oh, there were other people. Molly hadn’t noticed, because he’d been wrapped up with Yasha, but the name cut through the post-resurrection haze and right down into a feral bit of his soul that said _time to panic!_

 _Lucien_. Yasha felt thunder roil in her bones, felt her wings snap out from her shoulders. She pulled Molly up and behind her, hand already halfway to her sword.

"How do you know that name?" she growled at Percy. "Who the fuck _are_ you people?!"

There was a stunned, horrified silence, as Molly scrabbled onto Yasha’s back. “I think you’ve got me mistaken for someone,” he said, breaking it. “I’ve got a very common face.”

Keyleth gestured for Pike to give them some space, sensing that whatever was going to happen next would _not_ be something you'd want to get caught in the middle of. Pike blinked awake, and stepped back, shooting a worried look over to Percy and Vex.

Too stunned, for once in his life to speak—too little, too late—Percy simply stood in shock of his own at the state of Yasha's wings.

Vex’s heart stuttered in her chest at the sight of—oh god, Yasha's wings, what had happened to her wings?  What had happened to her children? She let go of Percy's hand, taking a deep breath that sounded like a sob. That was her son. That was her _boy_ , and he seemed terrified of his own name.

Yasha backed up another step away from the semicircle of strangers looking at her and Molly. Her greatsword was now in her grasp, pointed menacingly at Percy. "What do you _want_? Why are you looking at us like that?"

She felt Molly prodding her shoulder. “Who even are these people?” he asked, worriedly. “Where’s everyone else?”

"I brought them here to bring you back, I'm so sorry about this," she hissed under her breath. "I have no idea who they are. Everyone's… elsewhere."

Molly poked Yasha’s shoulder again, the way he did when he wanted to get and keep her attention. “Do we even know where they are?” he asked. “And I— _ow_ , fuck, your _wing_ , Yash.”

Percy raised his hands, palms facing out in a placating gesture. "Yasha, if we had known about...about your _friend_ we would have said...something—gods! Let's take a step back and let you can ask whatever questions you desire and we will answer them, but you must hear us out."

"And why should I? All I know is that you've just called my best friend by the wrong name," she spat, honing her gaze on the man.

"I can see that, and I apologize for it profusely." Percy could already tell that, for all his skill with words, they would not be enough.

"Why should we stay and talk with you when we could just leave right now?"

Vex was shaking her head, tears streaming down her face freely now. Her children were alive. They were alive, and they were _here_ , and she wanted to rush forward and hug them and tell them how sorry she was, how much she missed them…

"You're alive," she whispered through the tears. "I can't believe you're both alive...!"

Molly frowned. “Uh, yes, we both are.”

Yasha turned to look at her quizzically. "Yes, we're both alive, thanks to your gnome friend, and I'm very grateful, but we really need to be going now, so..." She backed up another few steps, keeping her wings spread threateningly.

Percy's mind was racing a hundred miles a second as he contemplated every possibility. His children _knew_ their names, but seemingly not who they were. His children were _afraid_ of Lucien, or the name. His daughter's wings were little more than bone. In the swirling pit of acid in his gut, Percy knew that whatever had befallen them it was worse than death. Worse than anything he ever had imagined over the years. "You loved your friend enough to travel across oceans to find someone who could bring him back. I tell you now, that if you leave, you will never know why your very person felt rent in two at his loss. You have a choice before you. An opportunity. Take it."

Yasha paused at Percy’s words, mind wheeling. This was never her strong suit, making choices like this. Her instinct was telling her to take Molly and run from these strangers back to the coast to their friends, back to Jester’s mother, but…

"Molly, what do you want to do?" she asked under her breath so only he could hear. "Do you want to stay, or… Everyone else is a long ways away right now."

“Wait, no, you can’t, he just—” Pike started forward.

Vex laughed. They were both alive, and here, and they'd managed to piss off both of their children in one go. "Please… please don't leave yet..." Gods, she sounded pathetic, and she hated it. But her heart couldn't take losing them both again, not when she just got them back.

Molly dropped from Yasha’s back, and then collapsed into her side with a quiet pained hiss. “ _Ow_ ,” he huffed, feeling as though he got run over by a very heavy cart. “Yasha? I’m not sure I can get all that far.”

Hastily, Yasha went to support him. As she did, Vex immediately rushed to Molly (that was his name, that was what he chose and he could call himself whatever he wanted because he was _alive_ ), trying to help steady  him. "Careful… post-resurrection sickness can take a lot out of you, especially if it’s been a while..."

"Don't you _fucking_ touch him," Yasha ordered, lowering her sword once more in Vex's direction.

Though it was Percy's instinct to move forward to to his wife, his son, it was Yasha, fiercely protective in the storm of uncertainty, who was the priority. "We mean you no harm. Whatever it is that has you so spooked about that name, we mean you no harm. And never have. Nor ever will."

"Put that sword away right now," Vex responded, not even bothering to look at Yasha as she tried to help steady her son. Her son. "We all have a lot to talk about, and your friend is in no condition to travel far, so I _suggest_ we all find some place a little more hospitable nearby and have a chat."

Her voice left no room for argument.

Molly froze, then grabbed Yasha’s arm to try to get her to lower the sword. “Yasha,” he said, “Yasha, Yash, it’s fine. It’s fine. I don’t—I don’t think I have a choice, I feel like shit and I can’t really go anywhere.”

Pike, whose hand had gone up to the hilt of her morningstar, now dropped her hand, stepped closer and said to Yasha, as conciliatory as she could manage, “She isn’t lying, it’s going to take him a while to really be okay.”

“I wasn’t talking to you,” said Molly.

“I was talking to Yasha,” said Pike.

She paused, looking between all of them. Pike and the druid—Kiki, they had called her?—were off to the side, watching silently with wide eyes. She looked back to Molly, at how hard he was trying to hide his grimace of pain. She came to a decision, folded her wings in and sheathed her sword.

"Fine. We'll stay. But only because Molly needs to rest. As soon as he's fit to travel, we leave."

"Good," Vex said with a nod, smiling warmly at Molly. "Hello, darling, welcome back." She then turned to the rest of the group, all business now. "Do any of you have any potions on you? Keyleth, could you craft some sort of makeshift shelter? Pike, do you think it’s worth going and getting Scanlan for the Mansion?" If she focused on this, the business of getting them settled in for now, she could ignore the whirlwind of questions she had, the aching in her chest.

Pike sighed, considering Vex’s words. “Well, I mean, I can try.”

Keyleth shrugged. "I can still use my spell to make… I guess a rock hut? Would that work for now?"

"And will you hear us out?" Percy focused entirely on Yasha, pushing aside everything else. It could wait, others were taking care of the rest.

Yasha pulled Molly closer to her side, still unnerved by this woman who thought she knew her Molly. If they wanted to help them, fine, but that doesn't mean she has to like it. Plus, whatever Percy was talking about sounded… odd. She couldn't put her thumb on it, but Yasha felt unsettled. "I guess, since we have nowhere else to go," she said stiffly.

Molly shook his head, “Uh, no, there’s got to be a perfectly serviceable inn nearby.”

"Are you okay to walk, Molly, or do you want me to carry you?" she asked him softly.

“I can walk,” said Molly, leaning against Yasha again, “but with some support.”

"We'll get him settled, and then we'll talk." Percy looked around. "You know this area better than we do. Is anything at all nearby?"

Molly paused. “Honestly, truth be told, I have no idea either,” he said, looking at Percy with a steely look. “I do know Shady Creek Run’s thataway, though.” And he pointed in the town’s direction, the one they were going in when he—died.

"I can just carry you and you can get some sleep," Yasha insisted. "But if you want to walk I will help you." She also wanted to keep him all to herself. She's been without him for extended periods of time, sure, but this was different. He just came back from the dead. She didn't want to let go of him for fear of waking up and having this all be a dream.

"Vex, do you still have the carpet?" Keyleth looked at her inquiringly.

Vex snorted, standing up. "Do I still have the carpet. Of course I do! Hang on, let me get it out."

In the years since their adventuring days, she'd managed to get her own Bag of Holding, which came in handy for situations like this. Vex pulled out rolled up carpet,  fluffing it out with a smile, before saying, "lift."

The carpet unwravelled and floated there, and she turned to Yasha and Molly. "Will this help?” Yasha eyed the floating rug with trepidation, then turned to Molly, waiting silently for his judgement. Wherever he would go, she would follow. "It's there if you want to use it," Vex said before walking back to Percy, taking his shaking hand.

"Darling..." Percy breathed, leaning into her. "Darling, both of them… _both_ of them..."

"I know, I know, dear," she whispered, squeezing his hand. "They're alive. They're both alive!"

Even if their children both hated them after this, even if they wanted to leave, it didn't change the fact that at least now Vex and Percy knew they were alive, and safe, and together. That was worth everything.

"How are we going to tell them?"

"Delicately, I think." Percy looked towards where Yasha stood with _Molly_. "This will take a gentle hand."

Standing just a ways away, Molly stared at the rug, jaw dropping in shock. Then he closed it, and looked over at Vex in surprise. “Is that—” he started, then trailed off, shaking his head more out of shock than anything.

He shivered a little. Fuck, he needed his coat. Yasha noticed the shiver, and held out her arm with the silk still draped over it.

"Here," she said, handing it over. "I thought you'd like it back. You can take my shawl too, if you're still cold.”

“You’re the best,” said Molly, leaning up to peck Yasha on the cheek. “Keep the shawl, I’ll be fine.” He whirled the coat back over himself, and it felt like coming _home_. Then, shooting Vex a slightly suspicious look, he climbed onto the floating rug and proceeded to flop over onto his back.

Yasha climbed on behind him, drawing him into her lap with his back against her. The carpet felt like she was sitting on water without sinking. Strange, to say the least. "Um…” she asked hesitantly in Vex’s direction. "How do we move?"

Pike walked over to Vex and Percy, in the meantime, and said quietly, “I think you should tell them once we get them settled. I can get a message back to Scanlan, let him know to get ready to come here if we need him to.”

Percy nodded and pulled away from her, shucking his coat as he did. Walking the short distance to where the carpet hovered, he held it out to Yasha. "Take it. He'll need the warmth. Coming back from the dead is no easy thing."

Yasha glared at his outstretched hand as if it were a venomous snake. She tightened her arms around Molly's frame, hunching her shoulders over him like a cloak.  "He's fine," she said shortly.

“I got my own coat, no thanks,” Molly replied simultaneously. “Keep it, I wouldn’t want to impose.” The look on his face, though, said _fuck you_ in the way his politely cheerful tone did not.

Pursing his lips, Percy hesitated before withdrawing his hand reluctantly. "It would have been no imposition, I assure you. Not for you."

Still in conversation with Pike, Vex nodded. "Thank you, Pike. And… thank you for bringing him back. Take your time getting a message to the others, this may take a while." She glanced over at Percy, at his attempt at an olive branch that seemed to be going over like a lead balloon. "A long while, I think."

Keyleth had walked over to the others, Vax still on her shoulder. The raven cawed before hopping off and moving to Molly's shoulder, nuzzling his face. Yasha started at the sudden bird on Molly's shoulder, the feathers brushing her bare biceps as it settled.

"Molly...?"

“It’s fine,” said Molly, surprised at the bird. He gave it a little pet on the top of his head, feeling strangely comforted at its presence. The bird cawed at Yasha and moved to her shoulder next, repeating the gesture, before flying back to Keyleth.

"That was odd. D'you think it means something?"

He shrugged. “No idea,” he said. “I just—felt like it liked me.”

Keyleth laughed and nodded as the bird puffed out his chest on her shoulder. " _It_ definitely means he likes you."

"Oh." Yasha blinked. "Well, that's… good? I guess?” Yasha kept her eyes on the raven. “I've never seen a wild bird do that," Yasha commented to him. "Just that trained one that the juggler man had, the bright red and yellow and blue one?"

Keyleth's smile softened and turned wistful. "Vax is… Vax is special. He's no trained bird, though, I can tell you that." Vax preened a little bit and she couldn't help but stroke his feathers—gods help her, she still loved him, even like this. "He's, well. He's Vax.”

Yasha just nodded along. Kiki seemed nice enough, and wasn't trying to call Molly the wrong name. Off to a good start for her.

"He seems like a nice bird," she offered, hoping it was the right thing to say.

She just nodded, smiling, eyes still sad. Vax nuzzled her, and while the gesture was the same one he had just done with Molly and Yasha, here it seemed, more intimate. Mournful, to a degree.

“He’s a very nice bird,” said Molly, absently, not quite certain where that surety came from. “Bit of a change from Kiri and _that other fucking bird_ , to be sure.”

Yasha smiled softly. "I hope she's okay with those gnomes."

Keyleth stroked Vax's feathers for a moment longer, before he hopped onto the carpet between the two twins. That was going to be a conversation... she sighed, before smiling and clapping her hands together. "So! To Shady Creek Run, then?"

“To Shady Creek Run,” said Molly. Then he rested his head against Yasha’s bicep, closed his eyes, and in no time was snoring softly.


	2. Chapter 2

The ride had been quiet and tense, dull against the softly falling snow, which gave the air a crisp, scentless quality. The chill kept bringing Molly to wakefulness in short bursts before the toll of his resurrection eventually sent him back into unconsciousness. They were half a day there when Molly first mentioned, through his half sleeping state, what he had been told of the Run by a dwarf named Keg.

Yasha spent the entirety of their journey either cataloging what she could about these people and keeping an eye on Molly, who was drifting in and out of consciousness every hour or so. She kept her mouth shut about her past with the Run, but upon hearing Molly's slurred recollections about what he'd heard, she immediately balked at the idea.  
  
"There has to be some smaller towns around here, right?" she said quietly. "It's three days travel, that's a lot of ground to cover."

At the first mention of 'crime-ridden shithole', no matter the calm nature of the statement, Percy had turned immediately to Vex, the look on his face one of quiet alarm. Vex nodded at Percy quietly, understanding his concern. They needed to get to some place safe and secure, and it sounded like this Shady Creek Run was anything but...But there were no other towns nearby, and she was concerned about trying to tree stride anywhere. Not that she doubted in Keyleth's ability, but she didn't want to do anything to spook her children.

Her _children_. She still couldn't believe they were alive, both of them. That they'd found them purely by accident. Whatever happened next… at least they knew they were alive.

Keyleth, who'd chatted with Yasha and Molly on and off, frowned. "I could tree stride us somewhere… we could go see Tary! Oh! He'd love to see you guys, it's been ages!"

Molly drifted slowly back into consciousness to the sound of Yasha’s voice, and curled up closer to her in response. She was soft, and warm. He felt too cold, still, too tired to do much more than lean on his best friend. So lean he did. Yasha tightened her arms around Molly as she felt him shift. Keyleth mentioned yet another name, yet another stranger, and her shoulders hunched protectively over him. She had been pleasantly, if stiltedly, chatting with the druid, and she liked her, but she was still a stranger.

"Tary is most certainly a stop we shall have to make, but I don't think that it is the best idea. At not not right away. That may be...overwhelming." Percy commented thoughtfully.  
  
Keyleth drooped a little, but nodded. "Right, right, sorry...still, I could maybe get us closer to Deastock. We at least know for sure there's towns around there."  
  
Vex nodded. "If everyone is amenable to it..." She glanced over at the carpet. At Molly and Yasha. She hadn't really spoken with her children since the whole debacle following Molly's resurrection.

“Percy’s not wrong,” Pike said. “Tary’s good, and I’d love to sleep in one of his beds, but—” And she waved a hand towards Yasha and Molly. “But I really would like to sleep in a bed tonight,” she admitted.  
  
Molly cracked one eye slowly open, and said, “I’d love a bed too.”

Yasha shrugged. "I go where Molly goes," she stated simply. Molly shut his eyes once more, and in no time was sleeping soundly against Yasha’s side.

"A bed would be nice," Vex mused. "So if everyone is agreed…?"

Keyleth nodded. "I can take us closer to Deastock then." Keyleth prepared the spell, making sure to guide the carpet close to the nearest tree before casting. "Okay, everyone, lets go!" Her portal opened up in a swirl of energy and one by one they went through, the carpet following after. Pike brought up the rear behind them, stepping out onto solid ground like she’d done this before. And she had.

Yasha's grip on Molly tightened for a breath as they passed through, and she scanned their new surroundings with a watchful eye. The landscape was vastly different. Though there was still a  very light dusting of snow on the ground, there seemed to be a lot more variance in flora. Trees abounded in little copses and the land was not quite as rocky so much farther south towards the Menagerie coast, at least not in the same way. Molly didn’t quite awaken as they went through, but he did shift in Yasha’s arms, a crease appearing between his brows.

Yasha smiled fondly down at him, brushing back a stray hair before resettling her arms around his sleeping form. She reached out and grabbed at a fern hanging at their level on the carpet, twirling it delicately between her thumb and forefinger as they travelled on.

"When we find ourselves a place for the evening, we will explain everything, as promised." Percy mentioned aside to Yasha quietly, mindful of the sleeping Mollymauk.

"I certainly hope so," she responded darkly.

"Don't worry, darling, we said we would explain everything, and we will. But your friend would do better with a proper rest in a proper bed." The dislike in Yasha's voice broke Vex’s heart. This had not been how they'd wanted to explain to her what she and Percy believed. Everything had been so different from what she'd expected… But then, she hadn't expected to find her lost son, either. Hadn't expected him to be Yasha's long-dead friend. She put it from her mind, focusing on the task at hand. It had been years since she had been in the area around Deastock, but the countryside seemed relatively unchanged. "There's an inn nearby, I believe?"

“Proper rest, plenty of fluids and food, and regular exercise,” Pike piped up, breaking into Vex’s thoughts. “Just don’t let him get into a fight for—hm, let’s say a week.”

"He's not leaving my sight for a long time," Yasha asserted.

"Yeah, when I died… yeesh, I was loopy for days!" Keyleth laughed and shook her head, remembering her very dramatic and, in hindsight, very stupid death. "Ahh… good times..."

"We are indeed not gods, Keyleth." Percy's brows raised amusedly.

“Maybe don’t let him go near cliffs either,” Pike said, with a quiet but fondly exasperated chuckle.  
  
"Oh hush. Or need I remind you that life needs things to live?" Keyleth responded, shooting Percy a smug smile.

"I stand by that statement. It is an aphorism, yes, but true nonetheless." Percy managed a smile in return.

Molly, his eyes still closed, mumbled, “‘S’a stupid statement.” Then he turned over and snored into Yasha’s arm.  
  
Vex smiled a little at her son's sleepy mumbles. "He's right, dear… it may be correct, but that wasn't one of your most eloquent moments."  
  
"Yes, well they can't all be one-liners, darling."

Yasha blinked at the exchange, turning to Keyleth. "You've died before? How?”

"She jumped off a thousand-foot cliff and tried to save herself by turning into a goldfish," Vex said dryly, not amused. "It was… messy."

Yasha looked between them all, brow creased slightly. She could see tones of her own circus, and the budding family of the Mighty Nein, and felt her perception of them shift just slightly.  
  
"Why would she do that?" she asked Vex. "Why did you do that?" she repeated to Keyleth.

Keyleth shrugged. "I was looking for a diamond. A diamond that she," she turned and gestured to Vex, "wanted back. In hindsight I probably should've turned into a bird, but… eh. I got a neat story out of it!"

"Keyleth, you were wrecked by that fall," Vex said with a sigh. "You're really lucky Tary had that coin, and that I'm the one who found you!"  
  
Yasha just tucked her chin carefully between Molly's horns and listened to their banter in contemplative silence. She would pass a final judgement on them later, after Percy gave whatever explanation he promised. For now, she resumed her watchful eye along the trees.

Pike, too, kept an eye out, taking up the rear as they walked. So far there didn’t seem to be any nasty surprises lying in wait, though, and she figured that if there were any, they’d probably dispatch it faster than the thing could blink, before it could get to Molly or Yasha. Gods, this was strange. The last time she’d seen the two of them, they’d been so small. Luci’s horns were nubby little things, and Yasha was still shedding downy feathers and crying because her twin thought her wings looked delicious. Now Molly had come back from the dead and Yasha looked—

Well, Yasha looked as though she’d cried all her tears out.

It didn't take the group too long to find an inn off the side of the road, a quiet place that, at the moment, wasn't too busy. A good place to rest for the night and discuss important matters.

Vex was still unsure exactly what the best way to break the news to Yasha was. Come right out and say it? Explain how they lost their children in the first place? And that didn't even begin to touch on explaining things to Molly...Molly, who had tensed upon hearing his name, who had become guarded at being called _'Lucien'_. She had so many questions for both of them. Where had they been, how had they survived, how did they find each other again…

Yasha scooped up Molly in her arms and carried him up the rickety stairs of the inn they found. When they were settled in—an easy enough feat with Vex spearheading the securing of their rooms—Yasha helped Molly onto a bed while the others crowded around curiously, watching on with nervous energy.

Percy spoke first from where he stood in the doorway. "This story is long and involved and will require that you interrupt as little as possible. It is not a nice story to relate for any of us, least of all myself and Vex'ahlia. I understand that you will have questions as we go, however, I request that you allow us to finish, please, before asking. I do not ask this to be cruel. I ask this for the sake of my wife, myself and my friends."

Yasha was silent for a moment, then bent down to prod Molly. "Hey, we're stopping for the night. Percy's going to talk to us, you awake?" she gently asked.

Molly, only now stirring awake, poked his head up. “‘M’wake,” he mumbled, rubbing at his eyes. He looked at Percy, pushed himself up to a sitting position, tail twitching curiously. “This sounds like a story I’d like to hear,” he said.

Yasha sat on the edge of the bed in a protective crouch, hand near Molly. "Alright. I'm listening."

Vex sighed quietly, taking Percy's hand and squeezing it gently. "Percy and I have had a lot of adventures in our day. We've fought gods, made deals with demons, done the sorts of things that stay in the blood for some time. And when our first children were born, what we had done was reflected in them. Twins, a boy and a girl." She looked meaningfully at Molly and then at Yasha. "An aasimar and a tiefling."

"We'd had a recent loss. Vex'ahlia's twin brother. Things were looking up with the birth of the children. Our hearts were healing..." Unlike Vex, Percy looked anywhere but at Molly and Yasha.

Molly said nothing, but his brow creased as he took in the meaningful look. They couldn’t mean—could they? It would explain—but he wasn’t. Was he?

Yasha sat eerily still, flicking her gaze between Percy and Vex as they spoke. At the look from Vex her head tilted, and a faint buzz started to sound in the back of her mind. They couldn't be talking about—there was definitely some things she couldn't remember but—not her and Molly. Couldn't it?

"We were so happy when our children were born," Vex continued, voice breaking a little. "They hadn't been quite what we'd expected, but they were healthy, and happy… and we gave them these long, ridiculous names. Family tradition." She still remembered the naming ceremony for the twins. How Luci has kept trying to chew at his foot… how Yasha slept through most of it, waking up with a loud cry near the end. She smiled a little at the memory, blinking back tears. "Velora Yasha Johanna Pike de Rolo and Lucien Percival Ezekiel Zachariah Frederick Vax'ildan de Rolo. Our eldest children."

"Two blissful years. I never thought—but that's not important." Percy removed his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Two blissful years of crying babies, a flying baby, a baby who liked to gnaw on his sister's wings..."

"And you think… you think… we're your children," Yasha said flatly, motioning between Molly and herself.

"Darling, please. Let us finish." Vex looked at her daughter, the stranger before her that she knew in her heart was her little girl. "Those two years were the best in our lives… Yasha cried whenever Luci gnawed on her wings, Luci was always off riding Trinket—he's my bear, and he loved his little siblings as much as we did." She looked at Percy, watching as his posture grew ramrod straight and tense, knowing what came next. "We decided to take a family trip, the first one since the twins were born. We went to Deastock to visit a dear friend, take in the local area, expose the children to life outside of Whitestone..."

"We've been over it a million times, a million times ten, whose fault it was and wasn't." Percy replaced his glasses. "In the end, it never mattered. We woke up one morning and they were gone. Vanished in the night."

Molly didn’t say anything, but it was sinking in. He looked at Yasha, as if searching for something in her face, then at Vex and Percy. Then he balled up, tail curling around his form; he didn’t know what to do with the information. He’d figured Lucien had family. Everyone had someone they were related to, they weren’t like Molly, who clawed his way up out of the ground without memory or family. He’d just thought—well, they probably didn’t care what happened to him, they hadn’t known their son was involved in some weird shit.

Now he thought, _They didn’t know because they didn’t know where he’d gone_.

And Yasha. Fuck. Yasha was his sister? He glanced at her again, but kept his tongue still, for once in his short life.

Yasha finally broke her gaze from the couple in the doorway to reach for Molly's hand. She didn't know what to think of any of this anymore, but he was still her Molly. Her touchstone. Her brother? Her actual blood-related sibling? They were as close as siblings in the circus but—

Molly took Yasha’s hand, giving her a reassuring smile. He hoped it didn’t look as brittle as he felt, hoped it looked effortlessly reassuring. The whole world had flipped upside down on him, was sinking like a ship with a hole ripped in its hull, and Yasha was still there, steady as a rock.

Vex didn't tell them how the loss of their children had sent their lives into ruin. How their marriage had fallen apart, how broken and bitter and terrible they both became in the wake of their loss. They didn't need to know that. "We looked… for years, we tried to find them, but… we never did. All our leads went nowhere, all the children brought to Whitestone claiming to be them… in the end, it never was." She looked at them, at the dawning realization on Molly's face. He, at least, seemed to believe what she was telling them, to some degree or another. "We had theories as to what happened, of course… we think we know who stole our children, but it didn't matter. We never found them."

Molly squeezed Yasha’s hand, silently. In a storm, he would count on her, and this was a storm like nothing else.

She squeezed back, receiving and sending the unspoken message.

"The fact remains, there are very few Aasimar women named Yasha with heterochromia and lavender tieflings are exceptionally rare. To find one of you... we thought it would just be Yasha. The name threw us... We'd just thought to help you with your friend," Percy looked to both of them then and they could see that he looked less put together than he was managing to sound."We didn't anticipate—I was caught off guard. Obviously that name bothers you, but I find the evidence too compelling to believe anything else but that you are our missing children."

And there it was. _You are our missing children_ . Molly wanted to laugh, wanted to run, wanted to bullshit his way past this. He opened his mouth, said, “Well, I—” Then he stopped. Looked at Yasha. “I was hoping I’d have some bullshit together by now,” he admitted, aside only to her. To Percy he said, “That name bothers me because it’s _not_ my name.”

"When Pike brought you to us, Yasha, we weren't sure. There was always the possibility of another pretender," Vex explained, squeezing Percy's hand. "But… we knew. I knew. We'd planned on telling you after you had your friend back, but we hadn't expected..." She shook her head and laughed a bit, a wet, broken sound. "Honestly, I believed you were both dead."

Yasha sat quietly as they continued speaking. "I don't remember my parents," she admitted quietly, still holding Molly's hand. "The only family… the closest thing I had to a family was the circus. Molly's the only one left." She swallowed and looked up at them. "I don't know if I'm going to believe you yet, but you make a good case."

"It was kinder to believe than many of the imaginings that tormented us, at least." Percy was just barely holding it together still; he and Vex were supporting one another, but there was little else that allowed them to remain standing. "You were only two when you were taken. You wouldn't remember." Percy's eyes were glassy.

Two years old? Fuck. Almost unwillingly, Molly’s heart twinged in sympathy for the person who used to have his body. Losing his family at two was rough, and gods only knew what happened to him from thereon out.

"You can see why, after a while, we believed you were dead. We stopped looking, tried to accept the loss and move on." Vex tried to explain. The not knowing, the possibility of them still being out there in the world, the hope… that had been the worst part.  "If you don't mind me asking, what is the earliest thing you remember?" She needed to know exactly what her children had been through. What had led them to this point, her daughter fallen and wingless, her son still fresh from his grave.  
  
Maybe then, they could finally know who did this.

"My earliest memory was when I was still a child. I don't know how old I was, no one told me." Yasha hesitated. "It… was not the most pleasant of places to grow up in. The Stormlord, he—he saved me from a hellish situation." She toyed with a loose tie on her arm band. "I came here, to the Empire, about a year or so ago now? Joined up with the circus Molly was with. You know the rest." She held out an arm for Molly to snuggle under. She knew how talking about the person before made him.

“Funny you should talk about remembering,” Molly said. In for a penny, in for a pound, he supposed, and he was all out of bullshit. “I’ve got some bad news for you lot. The earliest, the very earliest thing I remember, is clawing my way out of a grave two years ago.”

Percy stiffened, jaw clenching shut for a moment as he processed the information. "You appear to do that quite often then. A habit of mine I had not wished for my children." The words were nearly cold and impersonal, a front over the breaking of his heart.

“I’m not your son,” was Molly’s response to Percy, just as chilly, “and I wasn’t trying to make a habit out of it.” He patted Yasha’s bicep, then gently lowered it. Then he looked at Vex and sighed. “I’m sorry, but Lucien died in a grave two years ago,” he said, with the voice of someone breaking very, very bad news. “I have no idea what he did, I just know there was some shady shit involved. Whatever it was, he didn’t come back. I’m here instead.”

Vex swayed a little, her thin facade of composure breaking a bit at the revelations laid out by her children. Yasha had been through a hell she would never be able to understand, and Molly…

Molly was not Luci.

Her son, her Luci, was gone. He'd been gone for a long time, possibly longer than the two years of Molly's existence, if he'd led a life that ended in a shallow grave.

"Oh," she said quietly. "I… oh."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think we are the children you lost," Yasha said gently. "Not who they would've been, anyways."

Vex wanted to break, right then and there, but she couldn't. Not yet. Percy needed her to be a rock, and her children… she couldn't mourn for Lucien again, not now. "I don't know what we expected, to be honest," Vex eventually said after taking a moment to breathe. "We didn't even know you were still alive… knowing you are, in one way or another," she nodded to Molly, "is honestly more than I could've hoped for."

Vex was nice, but—fuck if Molly was going to apologize for his existence. So far as he was concerned, Lucien had thrown away his chance when he’d abandoned the body. This was Molly’s now, and he had the tattoos and jewelry and coat to prove it.

Still. Vex was nice, so he made the effort at sympathy: “I am sorry you lost your son. I’m not sorry I’m here instead, he left this body and it’s mine now, but that you lost him twice over—that’s a shitty deal.”

"No. I'm sorry, but no." Percy was standing so rigid he was shaking, though only Vex could tell. "I recognize my children when I see them, even if they are not who they would have been had they grown up with us in our home. I don't care what you call yourself. You _are_ my children. We have not lost you. We have only just _found_ you."

"Percy..." Vex warned, putting her hand on his shoulder, as she shook her head. It was Vax all over again, her heart shattering while her husband refused to accept the truth of the situation.

"Well, that's all and good, but we are all still strangers to one another. Did you expect us to just… accept this and change our lives completely for you?" Yasha said, voice hardening. "As far as I am concerned, my family is on the Menagerie Coast right now. Not in this room, crying over long lost children. Not projecting their grief and loss onto people they met only hours ago."

“You literally met me hours ago,” said Molly. “You’ve never lost me. You lost your son, and for that I’m incredibly sympathetic, I won’t lie, but I’m not your son. He died, and good riddance. All this?” He gestured to himself, his coat and his tattoos and even the scars. “Mine. Not Lucien’s, and _fuck_ him, he threw his life away for gods know what.” He paused, then added for Vex’s benefit: “Sorry, but I’m fairly certain he did.”  
  
Vex stepped away from Percy, nodding at Yasha and Molly. "What you do with this knowledge is up to you. As I said, knowing you're alive is more than I ever hoped for. If you want to get to know us, you can. If not, that's your choice." Then, she turned to Molly, eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Thank you. I don't know what kind of man my son became, to end the way he did… but take care of that body, okay? It's yours, so look after it."

He was still her son, regardless of what he called himself. She didn't know the man Luci became, but she could see shades of the boy he was in Molly. She'd still given birth to him, loved him, been his mother. But to get Molly to accept that would take time and effort, and if he didn't want to be that person… well, she understood wanting to be a different person.

"We should let you rest. This has been a lot, I know."

Percy sucked in a harsh breath blinked once, twice and then turned and left the room without another word, letting go of Vex's hand as he went.

"Yes, it has. And yes, you should." Yasha was now standing, towering with her full height over everyone.

Vex nodded and gave them both a sad smile. "If you want to leave, I won't stop you. But just be careful out there, both of you."

And with that, she turned and left the room, following after Percy. She found him outside the inn, walking purposefully at a brisk pace in the direction of a hillock, heedless of her pursuit.

"Percival! Wait!" She rushed to catch up with him, grabbing him by the shoulder.  


  


  
Yasha waited until the door had shut behind them, listened to the sounds of Vex's steps were gone from the hallway, before finally relaxing onto the bed with a sigh. "What do you think of all that?" she asked Molly.

“Percy’s an arsehole,” said Molly, picking at his sleeves. “Vex, I like far better. She didn’t push her memory of her son on me, she’s not half-bad. I don’t—” He stopped. Sighed. “I wouldn’t mind being related to her, I suppose."

“I like Vex, too," Yasha said. "And Pike. And Keyleth. Percy's angry. And he doesn't know how to not be, I think," she continued. "It must be a lot for them.”

"Pike, I like,” said Molly. He grinned at the unintentional rhyme. “And not just for the resurrection, although that’s a major factor. And Keyleth’s quite the character, I’d love to talk to her some more.”

She bumped his shoulder with her own. "Do you really think we could—that we're siblings?"

“They lost their kids and we’re the first people they’ve seen who fit their criteria perfectly,” he said, with a shrug. “They gave some compelling evidence, true, and—I can’t say I don’t believe them, but I’ve got my doubts. It all seems very convenient to me.” But he paused, and smirked. “Could you handle me as a sibling, Yasha?” he asked, nudging her elbow. “I’ve got a lot of pranks up my sleeve, and if they’re right and we’re siblings, I’ve a duty as a sibling to make you the target for all of them.”

Yasha rolled her eyes. "It can't be all that different that how we were with Gustav. Nothing'll beat that time with the Knot sisters and the shoes.“

“Oh, gods, yes,” said Molly, sighing nostalgically. “Mona and Yuli running out of the tent screaming bloody murder was the best thing I ever saw that week."

She bit her lip. "I don't know if I believe them or not. I don't know if I want to, to be honest. I like… Well, I'm me. I don't plan on trying to be whatever they think their lost daughter is supposed to be. I just wanted you back, Molly. I didn't think all of—this—" she gestured vaguely "—would happen as a result."

He stretched his arms out, trying to chase out the numbness that had crept into his bones. How long had he been dead and buried? He didn’t know. Gods only knew what had happened while he was—gone, was how he would think of it. He flopped down onto the bed, making a makeshift pillow for his neck with his fingers.

“Same here,” he said. “I have no plans of playing along with their need for their poor dead son. Fuck him, anyway. He went and threw his life away, and for what?” He shook his head. “I like me now. And for what it’s worth, I like you now, too.” Molly fixed his red eyes on her mismatched gaze. “We haven’t had the best of luck, no,” he said, “but—thank you. For kicking this whole thing off, even with how it turned out.”

Yasha laid down beside him on the bed, sword propped next to her at the headboard. "Soon as you get better enough, we leave and find our friends, yes?" She was beginning to miss them quite terribly, now that Molly was alive and—well, not well, but alive and out of the dirt.

“As soon as I can walk without wanting to throw up,” Molly promised. “I’ve missed out on enough with them, I’m not going to let another moment more go just because of personal revelations.” He paused for a moment, then let out a breath. “How long was I...?”

She pressed her lips together. "I don't know exactly," she admitted. "A few months maybe? You—your body was..." She grimaced. "It was not in good condition." "Sorry, you probably didn't want to hear that," she apologised.

He bumped her shoulder again, winced slightly. “If it’s been a few months, that’s to be expected,” he said. “Anyway, doesn’t matter now. It’s in a better condition than it was, and thank the gods, because it’s the only one I’ve got.” He paused again, then asked, “So what were the rest of you up to?”  
  
She shrugged. "No clue. I left them after… after. Just wandered towards the nearest storm. Went where my Lord needed me. I found everyone in Nicodranas on accident about a month or so after that."  
  
"We met Jester's mom. She's very nice. Has a lovely voice." She stopped and smiled. "We fought some creep that had been stalking her. Which also ended up with us releasing the djinn under the city, who was a slave. And now I guess there's no power there anymore? It sounded complicated."  
  
“Oh, I’d love to meet her mom,” said Molly. “And frankly, if they can’t power the city without a slave, maybe they shouldn’t have power. Plenty of ways you could power a city without pressing some poor schmuck into service.” And he had some very strong feelings about slavery now, having died at the hands of some fucking slaver.

"We also somehow were pirates for a few weeks? It all happened pretty quickly, but Fjord learned a bit more about his powers so." Yasha shrugged again. "At least it wasn't all for nothing."

“Yash, you’re going to have to tell me how you all managed to become pirates in excruciating detail,” he said. “Leave nothing out. Nothing.”

She hesitated. "What was it like? Being…”

He said, “I don’t know. I can’t—there was something there, I think, but I don’t know. It’s just—empty.” And he shivered.

"Hey," she said as she pulled him against her chest. "You're not empty anymore, Molly. You're here. I promise I'll tell you all about it, but you really should be back home with the rest of us first. It'll be better that way, with everyone's sides. It was… it was a lot," she chuckled.

_Empty, empty, empty._ The word rattled around in Molly’s head, and he bit his tongue to keep himself from blurting it out. He wasn’t empty, he wasn’t that empty broken thing Gustav found on the side of the road, not anymore. _Molly, I’m Molly._ He clung to Yasha, because the weight and warmth of her helped. It was easy enough to think of her as almost a sister, but the revelation about her being really his sister—he didn’t know what to do with that. He just held on.

“I’ll take your word for it,” he croaked. “I’m—sorry, Yasha, I really am, I tried to get to you, get you free—”

"Don't you dare," she half growled, "don't you dare blame yourself, Mollymauk." Yasha pulled back so she could tilt his face towards hers. "It's not your fault we were taken, and it's not your fault you died trying to get back to us."  She brushed her thumb soothingly over his cheek. "You have nothing to apologise for, do you understand me?"

Molly gave a half-hysterical laugh, rubbing at his eyes. He hadn’t felt guilty over it, per se, but he’d felt regret that he wasn’t there when Yasha and Fjord and Jester were freed. Still, he leaned into her touch.

“Loud and clear,” he said. “You’re very persuasive when you want to be.”

She snorted. “Usually the sword and the muscles do the persuading for me.”

"And they're very good at their job." He let out a slow breath. "All kidding aside—if they're right, and you're my sister? That, I wouldn't mind either."

“I could definitely live with that,” Yasha mused. “The rest… I don’t know. I’d rather we get some space and—and sort it out later.”

“Don’t worry, soon as I can walk, we’re getting out of here.” Molly glanced out the doorway and heaved a sigh. “I like these people well enough, save for Percy, but I just don’t trust them very much.”

“Neither do I. They seem nice. And Pike was where my god sent me, but I don’t trust them one bit. I would carry you the whole way back, if I knew where we were,” Yasha said, entirely serious.

“I would let you,” said Molly, also seriously, because he didn’t doubt that Yasha had the capability of just carrying him all the way to wherever the Nein had been, “and gladly pay the fee.”

"Don't be silly, I wouldn't charge you for that," Yasha smiled. "Having you back is payment enough." She paused, then said, "Should we—should we tell the others? About all this? When we get back to them, or if Jester messages me."

Molly chewed on his lower lip, thinking it through. He wanted to get back to the Nein as soon as possible, wanted to smooth the transition back into the fold, but at the same time—god, it would be funny, wouldn’t it be.

Well. Funny for him, anyway, and he half-thought it would be cause for an actual heart attack if he showed up as a surprise.

“Soon as Jester messages you, let her know I’m here and I miss them,” he said. “And then ask them where they’re headed.”

"Absolutely. She hasn't said anything in a while, though, so we'll see."

She sighed against his forehead. "I wish we could contact them first, you know? I want..." She trailed off for a moment. "I want everyone's opinion on this. It feels like too much for just us right now."


	3. Chapter 3

Meanwhile, outside the Inn, Percy's mind was a swirling black void. It wasn't that he was angry. Logically, he understood the argument from his son's and daughter's perspective, but he couldn't reconcile it with his heart, wounded and angry in his chest. He'd started towards the spot that appeared farthest away from the rudimentary aspects of civilization in the little town, in the form of a line of trees spackling the horizon. the brisk pace took him far fast. Muscle memory taking over while his mind was preoccupied by his emotional spiraling, Percy's hand found its way to the grip of his gun, fingers smoothly slotting into place where they hadn't rested for many a year. Still, the grip was familiar, like being welcomed to home.

Vex followed behind Percy, concerned. She knew that blank, dark look on his face far too well,  having seen it so often after they'd lost the twins. They had done a poor job of handing the current situation, and she knew it. It was always going to be difficult to reconcile the toddlers she remembered with the people her children became, but she'd never really expected the situation to be like this. Her son was dead. Her son was a completely different person. 

She needed to stop her husband before he did something stupid, or reckless.

"Percival!" she shouted from behind him, rushing to catch up.

Only half registering Vex'ahlia's call, Percy's grip on his weapon laxed, but he kept walking until she finally caught him by the shoulder, her momentum spinning him back towards her. He startled, blinking as she did.

"Percival," she said, gripping his shoulder tightly, "what are you doing?"

"I-I… don't know," he stammered. "I don't know." Percy put a hand over his brow, drawing his fingers across it. "This is… this is simply ridiculous, Vex'ahlia! Just because he doesn't remember being Lucien doesn't mean he's not—"

She sighed, shaking her head and pulling him into her arms.  "Percy… Lucien is gone." Her voice cracked as she said that, and she closed her eyes. "I don't know what kind of person he became, but he's gone. Molly—Molly just has his body." She still believed he was her boy, but he wasn't Lucien. She couldn't try to force that identity on him, not if she ever wanted to have a relationship with him. "Gods, this could have gone better..."

"That, my darling, is an understatement." Emotion laced his voice. "I just—does it matter? Does it matter who Lucien was anyways? We never knew him." He shook his head, laughing bitterly. "We never knew our son, Vex, but he's our blood. Our family."

"I know, darling. But the situation is delicate. He clearly doesn't want anything to do with any aspect of Lucien's past. We need to handle this delicately." It didn't matter to her whether he was Luci or Molly. He was alive, and he was still her son. "I just… what do we do now? They're going to want to leave..."

If they did… it would break her heart again, but she would accept it.

Percy blatantly ignored her first statement. "He is in no condition to go anywhere and she will not leave without him. That's one consolation, I suppose. Wherever they go, they'll go together. I suggest we convince them to go to Deastok. Tary has resources here that they could use and it buys us time."

"I suppose..." Vex sounded unsure, though, frowning a bit. "We need to handle this carefully, Percival. We can't force them to stay if they don't want to. It'll be some time before Molly will be well enough to move, and… maybe we can salvage this somehow."

"Yes. Salvage. Yes. Good. Right." Percy's expression changed suddenly, as though the gears in his brain had suddenly managed to begin again. "You're completely right, my darling, as always. This can be salvaged."

Vex smiled a little. "I am, aren't I. We just need to try and respect their decisions and get to know them as they are now." If nothing else, they could at least make it so that when they left, they might want to come back to visit.

He met her gaze, a wild gleam within his eyes, the blue darkened to a stormy grey. "I know it's them, Vex'ahlia. I feel it my bones. Those are our children. I know it." Percy's conviction was all encompassing. "They may not believe it, but I know it."

Vex smiled a little at him, nodding and resting her forehead against his. "They came home, darling… they finally came home. I want to know everything about them."

"Perhaps that is our angle. I don't know. Perhaps they will be more forthcoming about themselves than welcoming to hearing things from us." He pulled her closer, grasping her shoulders and massaging there. "They have friends and they are quite obviously preoccupied by the idea of returning to them… Gods, I've fucked this already, haven't I? Ever since I said his name… they won't trust me." With a heavy sigh he closed his eyes. "But you..."

“They will. It will take time, but I know they'll trust you." She sighed and smiled a little, leaning into his touch. "I'll do what I can to smooth things over for you, too."

"Nothing I don't deserve. I'm sorry, dear."

"You didn't know. Neither of us did." Vex leaned in to kiss him softly, taking his hand. "We can still make things right. Both of us. Now… shall we go back and try to get to know our children?"

"Attempt. I shall attempt it." Pulling away, he kissed her forehead. "They're beautiful Vex. They're so beautiful. Our children."

"I know! Well, how could they not be, look at us!" She laughed a little, feeling lighter and more optimistic about the situation than she had when she rushed after Percy.

"Especially you. Alright." He took her hand, slipping it into his elbow. "Let's."

"Just remember, this is going to take time. Be patient." She kissed his cheek and together they set off back towards the inn and their family.

"I shall attack this battle as though it were me against one of my particularly delicate clockworks, how about that?"

"That is a wise decision, darling. Just don't tell them that!"

"Mum's the word." There was the barest hint of amusement in his voice, at the thought, and he began to consider the pieces he'd once stashed away in a locked chest, the watches he'd begun for each of them at birth, but he pushed away the thought as they started back towards the inn. There was no room for such things in the moment, no room for maudlin thoughts when they were alive and there was a chance—even just the slightest chance, that they might finally come home.

 

Keyleth and Pike had been at the bar since Percy and Vex went and spoke to Molly and Yasha, and were still there when they reentered the tavern, arms linked. Keyleth, already getting well into a stress induced day drinking session, waved at them as soon as she saw them come back in. "Heeey! They're still upstairs, just so you know!"

"That's good to know. Thank you Keyleth." Percy looked up the stair longingly. "I should wait here. At least for a bit. I don't think I'll be welcome, and I don't want to cause any more ire than I've already earned us."

Vex sighed, nodding. "That may be for the best for now. I'll try talking to them in the meantime."

Keyleth gestured to another stool at the bar. "C'mon, Percy, I got a seat with your name on it! Well, not literally, but...!"

"And you better have a glass that's mine too. Any seat will do."

Pike looked up from her own drink and said, “You know, I’ve always found that a good drink tends to ease the way for relationships.”

"I got a glass for you!" She waved the bartender down, grabbing another drink for Percy. 

Vex smiled and waved at them before heading upstairs. She stood outside the door of her children's room for a moment, hesitating. Things had gone so poorly before… what if they didn't want to talk to her? Eventually, she took a deep breath, straightened up, and knocked on the door.

“We can muddle through this till we meet back up with them,” said Molly, just as a knock sounded on the door. He sat up, squinted at the door like he was honestly trying to see through it, then sighed.

Yasha bolted upright at the knock on the door, reaching instinctually for her sword. "Who is it?" she called out coldly. She wasn't in the mood to deal with these people any longer today.

"It's Vex. May I come in? I wanted to talk."

"Haven't you talked enough for one day already?"

“Let her in, Yasha,” Molly’s voice drifted out. “Unless her husband’s with her. In which case, let her in, but not him.”

"Perhaps… but that was mostly at you, not with you. Percy's downstairs, it's just me."

Yasha tilted her head. "That's fair. You can come in, I guess."

Vex let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, opening the door and entering the room, closing the door behind her. 

"Thank you." She looked at them. Yasha, tense and defensive. Molly, concerned but a little more open. Not much had changed since they were children, it seemed. "I… wanted to apologize to you both, for how we handled things earlier. That was a lot of information to dump on you both at once, and under less than ideal circumstances at that. You have to understand, we never expected to actually find our children alive, and then when we met Yasha… we tried to plan it out, but plans obviously changed and we didn't know how to talk to either of you."

“Did you bring drinks?” Molly asked, sounding a little more chipper.

She smiled a little at Molly's comment. "Sadly, I didn't. Keyleth is keeping the barkeep rather occupied at the moment."

“I knew I liked her,” Molly said, sitting up now. He looked a little less drawn than he had been—still exhausted, and he only barely managed to stifle a yawn—but he looked far better now than he had been when they’d brought him back to life.

“We’ll think on accepting it,” he said. “That’s really the most I can give you. For what it’s worth, though, I’m glad you came up. You’re very charming, and—less of a prick.” He didn’t say anything about the name that Percy had called him, but there was a hesitation before he went on.

"Oh, well, thank you, darling!" She shot Molly a bright smile. "And thank you for at least considering it. I know you aren't Luci… but I'd still like to get to know you, if you'd let me. Yasha spoke very highly of you."   
She looked over at her daughter, her smile softening a bit. "I'd like to get to know both of you, as you are now, if you'd let me."

Molly blinked for a second, then he grinned, preening like the peacock decorating his shoulder and the side of his neck. “Since you asked so nicely, I can’t really refuse,” he said. He sketched a small bow from the bed. “Mollymauk Tealeaf, of the Mighty Nein, formerly of the Fletching and Moondrop Traveling Carnival of Curiosities.”

Vex snorted and laughed, extending her hand. "Lady Vex'ahlia de Rolo, Baroness of the First House of Whitestone and Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt. It's a pleasure, Mollymauk Tealeaf."   
  
This wasn't the son she remembered… but Luci had been a toddler when he'd been taken. Whatever person he became was so far removed from her memories of him… Molly was here, and alive, and he was just as much her son as Luci had been, she knew it.

Molly kept the internal panic squashed down under his carnie’s smile, the one he wore when he wanted to con someone, when he wanted to make people believe he was doing just fine. Baroness? A baroness?  _ Holy shit. _ Instead of freaking out over the implication of his mouthing off to a noble, again, he took Vex’s hand and shook it.

He nodded to Yasha and said, “That’s Yasha, she’s the charm.”

Nobles. If these people were right, he and Yasha would be  _ nobles _ .

Ah, but Vex knew that fake smile. She'd worn a similar one many times before, with nobility during events in Whitestone, and before that in Syngorn. "You can call me Vex, though. The title is more for showing off than anything else. It really is a pleasure to meet both of you properly, though."

“Call me Molly, then,” he said. “It’s a pleasure too, Vex. Would be even more of a pleasure under better circumstances.” Were they ever going to meet anyone under good circumstances, though? Molly kinda doubted it, with the way their luck tended to run even before that fateful day on Glory Run Road.

“I—have to admit, I’m sort of curious about how you and Yasha all met up. She’s told me a few details, but I want to hear more.” He leaned forward. “Seems like there’s a story behind it.”

"Well, I really only know part of it. She went to find Pike first, to bring you back, and Pike brought her to meet us." Vex moved to pull a chair up and sit down near the bed, giving them just enough distance so that she wasn't right on top of them. "I don't know exactly why she went to find Pike specifically, though."

“So tell me the part you know,” Molly said, inviting, curious. His tail flicked about, and he glanced to Yasha, scooting over so she could join him on the bed too. He wanted her warmth next to him, wanted her solid presence to cling to, in case of any more earthshaking revelations.

She sat down, silently watching them banter back and forth. Nobles, great, more to process. Molly can certainly fake being one, but she was never going to be able to fit in with those kind.

"Well… Percy and I had arrived with Keyleth in Emon. They have this festival every year to mark the fall of the Chroma Conclave and the liberation of the city from the Cinder King." She smiled, eyes a little sad. "My brother killed him, you know. We all fought him, but Vax got the killing blow. It was… it felt right that he ended that beast."   
  
For a moment, she fell silent, staring off into the distance, before she blinked and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I got lost in the past. Anyway, we were there for that and Pike grabbed us, told us she had somebody she wanted us to meet."

Molly glanced sideways to Yasha, and took her hand to squeeze, silently.  _ I know, I’m freaking out too _ , he didn’t say. Yasha squeezed back, eyes never leaving Vex's face. She didn't know why she was here talking to them after their previous conversation, but she didn't trust it one bit.   
  
“I think I heard a little bit about that,” he said, to Vex. “Some dragons came and set fire to the place, right? They definitely pulled a whole island out of the sky, so far as I know.”

"Draconia," she said with a nod. "We lost a dear friend when Draconia fell."

It had been a long time since she thought of Tiberius, though she still missed her old friend. Hopefully he was keeping Vax company on the other side.

"So, Pike introduced us to Yasha, who told us she had come to find a cleric of Sarenrae, to bring you back." 

Molly glanced at Yasha and said, “You went all the way to another continent—for me? Just to get me back?” There was gratitude in his voice, of an unimaginable degree. To Vex, he said, “She must’ve talked me up something fierce, if you came all the way here.” He swept a hand out and said, dryly, “I clearly have a lot to live up to.”

"Molly, I would've gone to the astral plane to get you myself if I could," Yasha said quietly with conviction. "You're the world to me."

Vex smirked a bit. "She had nothing but praise for you. And she went through all that trouble, how could we not help?"

She turned to Vex. "I paid Pike with everything I had, don't act as if this was a charity case," she bit. "I didn't ask for any of this. All I wanted was Molly back" 

Gods, she sounded so much like Vax in that moment… it was hard to keep her mask of casual interest and general friendliness on when her daughter said things like that. They hadn't even known they were family by blood at the time, had they? But the bond between twins wasn't easily broken. She knew that all too well.

"We did ask her several questions," Vex continued, the mask back in place. "We… well, we'd had people trying to pretend to be our Yasha before. We realised quickly she wasn't another pretender, she didn't know who we were or anything. She just wanted you back..."

“Well, I’m back,” said Molly. “Not all the way back, but that’ll pass.” At least the little gnome woman had seemed confident it would, but then again, she’d done this before, hadn’t she. It was still strange, knowing that resurrection rituals and tree teleportation weren’t just things out of stories that Gustav would ape details from for shows. “And for the time being, I’m likely not headed anywhere.” 

He paused and looked at Yasha once more. “But only for the time being,” he stressed to Vex. “We’ve got people to look after.”

"Why are you here?" Yasha asked. "What did you expect to happen?"

"I know you do, and I won't keep you two from rejoining your friends." She sighed, running a hand through her hair, feeling very tired.  "I just wanted to talk to you. We didn't handle things well earlier… and whether you believe or accept it or not, I do believe you're both my children."   
  
Vex turned to Molly, eyes sharp. "I know you're not Lucien, and I won't try to make you into him or force you to take his place. But I did give birth to that body of yours, so I have a vested interest in keeping it safe and you alive and happy, if you'll let me."

She looked at both of them, so different from what she'd pictured them becoming when they were born. She was still so proud of them, regardless.

"I've dealt with enough family drama in my life. I don't want to make more of it. I want to get to know you both, as you are now, and if you never accept me as family, so be it. I won't force anything on either of you. If you want to talk, I'm here, and I'm ready to listen. Otherwise...just try to stay safe out there, when you do leave?"

Yasha looked over at Molly, squeezing his hand again.  _ Whatever happens, I won't leave you. _

He squeezed back.  _ I’m not leaving you either. _

"I appreciate the effort, but I think we all need some space." Yasha told Vex.

“I’ve got a vested interest in staying alive too, you can be sure I’ll do my best to keep it that way,” said Molly. “And we will. We’re generally very good at staying safe.” This was the biggest lie he had ever told Vex since she first laid eyes on him.

"Bullshit," she said with a small smile. "But I know you'll at least try. I can give you both space, I know this is a lot." She moved to stand up and head for the door. "Let me know when and if you're ready, though. I'll be here… and I'll bring you a drink later, Molly."

It was odd, how quickly she'd accepted that Luci was gone, and how much she liked Molly already. Maybe part of it was what Yasha had told them. Maybe part of it was that she saw shades of her own younger self in him, in spite of everything. Either way, she liked him, and if he'd let her, she'd choose to be his mother.

But for now, she would give them the time and space they asked for.

"Well, she at least isn't calling you Lucien. She's got that going for her," Yasha said once she had closed the door again.

“Right? I’ve got no idea how she ended up with that pain in the arse for a husband,” said Molly.

“They say opposites attract, no?”

“That can’t be right.” Molly ran a hand through his hair. “Opposites attract can only go so far.”

Yasha just hummed. “You should probably try and get some real sleep. I’ll keep watch.” With that she sat upright on the floor against the bed, sword in hand at the ready, eyes fixed on the door.

“I’m fine,” said Molly, and then completely undermined his own point by yawning. “On second thought, you have a point.” He fluffed up a pillow, put his head down, and went to sleep.   



End file.
